Police are seeking the identity of this man for an attempted fraudulent bank withdrawalLinden Police

LINDEN — Police are appealing to the public for help in identifying a man who tried to illegally withdraw funds from a city bank account belonging to a Cranford man.

At 3:25 p.m. Dec. 30, the would-be thief entered the Chase Bank at 235 N. Wood Ave. and asked to make a withdrawal, police Capt. James Sarnicki said.

When asked for identification, the man offered a New York driver's license with his picture on it, Sarnicki said.

A bank teller became suspicious and checked the account to discover a fraud alert had been placed for any transactions on the account, the captain said.

When the teller asked the man for additional information, "the suspect ran out of the bank leaving the driver's license behind," Sarnicki said.

A bank employee called the 50-year-old Cranford man who had the account, and the bank customer said he did not know the suspect and had no idea how he obtained the personal information or the account number, the captain said.

He said investigators discovered the license was fake.

Police ask that anyone with information about the suspect or this incident call Detective Michael Burnette at (908) 474-8535 or email crimetips@police.lindenes-nj.org.